1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of exercise machines, and particularly to those machines that simulate the action of a kayak, thereby providing aerobic exercise generated by the upper body.
2. Description of Related Art
There is a wide range of exercise machines and devices that provide aerobic exercise, that is, exercise that improves respiratory function by increasing the consumption of oxygen. Treadmills, stair stepping machines and cross-country ski simulators all provide effective aerobic exercise. However, these machines all require the use of the user's legs, either to stand while exercising or to operate the machine. Individuals who cannot use their legs, such as those with an injury, chronic conditions such as arthritis, or who must exercise from a wheelchair, cannot use these machines. There are also those who are able to use their legs while exercising, but do not wish to commit the space required of the existing machines and would like a smaller machine, especially for home use.
The present invention arose out of the need of individuals to have an aerobic exerciser that did not require the use of the individual's legs. Because of its alternating power stroke, continuous action and focus on exercising muscles of the upper body, a kayak provides an excellent aerobic exercise. However, using an actual kayak for exercise it is inconvenient for most people, because of the need for storage space and a suitable body of water. However, the simulation of a kayak provides a useful form of exercise.
A complete simulation of the action of a kayak calls for having components of mass as well as frictional and speed-dependent retardation forces, just as occur in any water craft. The present invention has all of these components.
The present invention includes a small, rigid base plate on which the operating mechanisms are mounted. This plate is in turn removably attached to a fixed surface such as a wall. The user can sit on a chair or wheelchair, or even stand in front of the machine while exercising. Because there is no large, heavy and unwieldy apparatus to take up floor or storage space, when the exercise is competed the machine can easily be demounted and stored.
The machine includes a continuous cord that passes through the machine, around a rotatable drum that translates the alternating linear movement of the cord into a rotation, and out the other side. The user grasps one end of the cord with one hand, and the other end with the other hand. Individual hand grips can be used to facilitate the grip, or in the best simulation of a kayak, each end of the cord attaches to an end of a shaft, with or without paddles at either end. In either example, a spring clasp or other similar device is used to removably attach the grip to the cord ends.
The retarding force and hence the aerobic exercise, derive from the mechanisms attached to the drum around which the cord wraps. One of these is a rotating mass or flywheel that simulates the mass of the kayak and paddler that must be propelled through the water against the retarding forces. In addition, there are retarding forces caused by a set of variably-spring-loaded friction pads that press against the flywheel, a permanent magnet that induces electrical eddy currents in the moving flywheel that in turn react with the magnetic field of the magnet, and a multitude of air-disturbing vanes mounted on the outer perimeter of the flywheel. The machine can employ some or all of these force mechanisms.
One of the unique aspects of this exercise machine is a conversion device that translates the back and forth rotation of the drum into a unidirectional rotation of the flywheel. The device allows a free-wheeling coasting of the flywheel between power strokes that is an accurate representation of the action of a kayak in the water between paddle strokes. Yet, the retarding forces remain in effect at all times, also accurately simulating the action of a real kayak.
Prior art for upper body aerobic exercise machines is of several varieties including lever-operated weight machines, cross-country or alternating arm type, kayak, canoe and rowing simulators. Unlike the present invention, nearly all of these machines consist of a large structure that contains both the part of the machine that generates the inertial and lossy retarding forces, and a part on which the user sits. Also unlike the present invention, others involve separate power and return strokes (e.g. Lo U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,573, Jonas U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,224, Kolomayets U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,244, Ware U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,325, Coffey U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,227), the use of levers to cause motion, rather than a cord (e.g. Hickman U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,876, Larsson U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,197, Chininis U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,145, and Rawls U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,002), lifting weights as the primary work mechanism (e.g. Hanagan U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,934, Jones U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,449 and Koenig U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,817) or when cord is used to actuate the work mechanism, the machine is large and self-contained (e.g. Grinblat U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,918, Street U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,962 and Sleamaker U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,251). Deluty U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,875 and Dudley U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,480 describe small exercise machines that are contained within housings and can be mounted on a fixed surface, but unlike the present invention, both involve a single cord with separate power and return strokes and only one form of retarding force. The closest prior art to the present invention is Englehart U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,357, since it uses a cord and paddle shaft that can be manipulated in three-dimensional space. However Englehart's invention is shown with an integral seat and uses only frictional resistance, thereby not providing a realistic simulation of an actual kayak.
In most cases, the result is a machine that is large, heavy and ungainly. Further, most such machines simulate the rowing action of a boat where both arms work together, first with a power stroke and then a return stroke. Further, they are usually designed to require the use of the legs, an aspect intentionally avoided in the present invention. In the present invention, the exercise machine is small enough to be mounted to a wall for support and easily removed for storage. It also accurately and realistically simulates the action of and forces encountered in paddling a kayak, where the arms work freely in three-dimensional space with alternating power strokes with inertial, frictional and various speed-dependent retarding forces all without requiring the use of the user's legs.
Until the present invention, there was no practical, cost-effective means available of providing a simple, practical, unique, yet different aerobic exerciser that had a frictional retarding force, speed-dependent retarding forces, a single inertial mass or flywheel rotating in one direction and did not require the use of the individual's legs.